Shattered Glass
by Bianca tabbycat
Summary: Ellie Danville is found dead, and Jo is distraught. Mac and the others work hard to solve the case, and the reappearance of an old friend with the initials S.B. just spice things up. Smacked.
1. 173 Brookville Alley

_Author's Note: Hello, all! This is my first CSI: NY fanfic, so please don't blame me if the characters seem OOC or I get something wrong. The idea for this story came from my best friend, **Zoe tabbycat**, and this chapter is dedicated to her. You're all free to review, comment and criticize if you find something wrong, but please, **NO FLAMERS!** And now that all the serious stuff is over, R & R!_

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><p><strong><span>Shattered Glass<span>**

_Disclaimer (there will only be one in the entire story): The clock on the mantelpiece could tick till the end of time, but even then, the wonderful world of CSI: NY and its characters still wouldn't belong to me. If it does, then Mac and Stella would have ended up together._

_Summary: The Danvilles used to be the typical "happy family", with a father, a mother, two mischievous little boys and an adopted sister; all they lacked was a dog for a pet. After several years, husband and wife decided they were no longer suited for marriage, and they applied for a divorce. Now, when everything seems to have settled down, the murder of a beloved one threatens to shatter the family into smaller pieces than before. Will the murderer succeed or be brought to justice?_

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><p><strong>Chapter 1 - 173 Brookville Alley<strong>

It was 4:06 in the afternoon precisely, and the bright afternoon sun beat down on the skyscrapers and roads of the Big Apple. One Ellie Danville was finally free of school – for the weekend, anyway – and at this point, she was strolling down the streets of her hometown, shopping for a present for the upcoming Mother's Day.

Jo Danville had adopted Ellie when she was at the mere age of two, taking care of her when her own birth mother was imprisoned by the police for various small crimes and drug addiction. Ellie owed a lot to her adoptive mother, and Jo had been her role model for as long as she could remember, which was exactly the reason she was peering at the glass of various shops, squinting to see past the glare of the sun on the reflective surface. Well, the other tiny reason that she had absolutely _nothing _to do for the afternoon might be a contributing factor to her stroll.

"_Maybe I could get her flowers – carnations? Nah, too unimaginative. Chocolates, perhaps? Nope, I got that for her last year. Artwork? Mum doesn't even _like_ art, even though she had accepted my kindergarten work with grace. Perfume? No way in hell, Mum wasn't the kind of person that cares about her appearance that much." _Ellie sighed and bit her lip, looking around at the different pedestrians for inspiration.

An ancient, balding man with a paunch carrying a battered briefcase – she didn't think her mother would appreciate something like that. A woman in her thirties who was so skinny that her business suit hung off her frame – Jo would be sure to scoff at her figure and tell her to eat more unhealthy food. Yet another woman in her mid-twenties which had so much jewellery on her arms, earlobes and face so she looked like a walking Christmas tree that escaped from Tiffany's – her mother would have laughed and walked away.

"_Wait a minute."_ Ellie turned her attention back to the walking Christmas tree. Why couldn't she get Jo some jewellery? Earrings, bracelets and rings were definitely out of the question – she wanted something more _special _for her mother, something that was different from any other. Spotting a dimly-lit jewelry shop at the end of the street, Ellie started towards it, hoping the ideal present was inside, waiting for her to purchase it.

Forty-five minutes later, Ellie exited the shop, tucking the package which contained her precious locket for her mother into her shoulder bag. The locket was silver in color with a golden cover, and had an oval frame to place ones photo. Ellie had told the store owner to engrave an inscription on the back, and she was heading for the photo shop at the end of Brookville Alley where a friend of hers, Katrina specialized in fitting photos to frames.

The job was an easy one, and Katrina was soon done and seeing her off. "See ya, Ellie," Katrina waved her away, standing at the doorway of the store. "Have fun during the weekend!" Ellie waved back, and started on her journey home. She was soon out of sight of Katrina and other passer-bys, musing over Jo's possible reactions to her present. Abruptly, she came to a halt right next to one of those big green rubbish bins with a cover, for she had heard a yowling coming from one of them.

Ellie stretched out a hand and lifted the cover.

_*Shattered Glass*_

"Mac?"

Flack pushed the glass door of the office open. "A person called 911 and reported a body found on 173 Brookville Alley."

Mac looked up from his pile of paperwork, which was stacked neatly in front of him – very typical Mac behavior. "Tell Jo, Lindsay and Danny to get ready and check it out. I'm on my way."

The four of them were seated in the black Avalanche mere moments later, and Jo steered onto the main road, which would have been the quickest way there if not for the fact that it was a Friday and nearing six o'clock – the rush hour.

Jo huffed in frustration as they were soon surrounded by cars which were all honking their horns. Sighing, she suggested, "Why don't Lindsay and Danny go and check out the crime scene first before it gets contaminated; Mac and I don't mind sitting out on the fun, right, Mac?"

She elbowed him in his chest, and Mac simply smiled. "Go on, and we'll meet you there." The couple left the car and jogged on ahead, leaving the others to inch towards their destination at the pace of a snail.

_*Shattered Glass*_

Danny and Lindsay flashed their badges at the guards, ducked under the bright yellow tape that surround the perimeter of the crime scene and found that Don had already arrived at the scene and finished questioning potential witnesses.

"Well, the witnesses have been unbelievably helpful in creating more work and trouble for us. They have seen nothing, heard nothing and know nothing. Now, isn't it very helpful of them?" Flack commented, the sarcasm evident in his voice.

"Very funny, Flack. Have you got any idea on the victim's identity?" Lindsay asked.

"Nope. She wasn't carrying anything with a name on, but I'm positive I have seen her before. Her build and figure – it's so familiar. Her name is just on the tip of my tongue, but I just couldn't figure it out." Flack shrugged.

"Okay. We'll start here. Mac and Jo are still in traffic." Danny took charge of the situation. "Montana, scene or body?"

"Scene," Lindsay answered immediately. Cases involving teenage girls had always rattled her and she could usually handle herself better if she didn't have to deal with the body personally.

Danny gave a brief nod and headed off into the alley, while Lindsay checked around for any clues. She found a couple of tread marks, most likely boots, and photographed them.

Meanwhile, as Danny reached to the body, he couldn't quite shake off the feeling that something was very wrong here. The dark chocolate brown skin and the curly dark hair gave him a sense of dread.

After taking several photos of the victim lying face-down in the middle of the alley, he enlisted the help of a couple of officers to turn the young girl over. When her face came into view, Danny couldn't help but freeze, his eyes wide with recognition.

"Crap," Danny muttered to himself. "Lindsay," he called, raising his voice. "I might be wrong, but isn't this Jo's daughter, Ellie? She witnessed the murder of the girl who was pretending to be an old man, didn't she?"

Lindsay jogged over, hoping against hope that Danny's mind was playing tricks on him. But when the girl's face came into view, she knew there was no mistake. Her coal dark locks framing her face, her chocolate brown skin reflecting what was left of the rapidly fading sunlight, the watch that she herself had given to Ellie Danville on the girl's birthday strapped on her wrist. She stood up quickly, the body rattling her more than she would admit.

"We have to call Mac and Jo and tell them to arrive as soon as possible," Lindsay told him, her voice tight. She took out her cell phone and reluctantly made the call to her bosses.

"Mac, it's Lindsay. There's something that you really should see here," Lindsay began, her finger threading through her hair nervously as Mac's voice came over the line.

"I know the traffic's bad, but this is serious. You and Jo both have to come," she urged in a low voice as she felt the tears form at the corners of her eyes, her back to the girl that had once laughed freely, without a single care in the world, so much like her friends in that café…

Mac's reply was that they would be right over, and Lindsay forcefully wiped away her tears and turned back to the crime scene, trying not to think of the lifeless body Danny was working on.

Jo showed up a mere fifteen minutes later, her face showing obvious confusion while Mac followed closely with a perfectly solemn expression. He knew it couldn't be good news, if Lindsay's tone over the phone was anything to go by. Danny gave his wife's hand a comforting squeeze before slipping away, leaving her to deal with the Assistant Supervisor.

"What's up, Lindsay?" Jo asked, her southern accent slipping in her anxiety.

"Jo, I think you actually know our vic here," Lindsay said to Jo, a look of sadness in her normally cheerful eyes. It was no use beating around the bush with Jo. She was practically like a human lie-detector.

"Who is it?" Jo asked, worry evident in her voice.

"It… It's Ellie, Jo," Lindsay told her heavily.

Jo stared at her, her eyes begging Lindsay to tell her that it was a joke, but something in Lindsay's expression gave a silent response to her unasked question.

"No… No! This can't be true," Jo's pitch was now slightly hysterical, and her head shook from side to side in denial as she took a step closer to the body. Mac, who had been a quiet observer to the breaking of the tragic news, followed her like a shadow.

Jo had soon covered the short distance to her destination, and she stared at her little girl unbelievingly: at her dark tresses, at her lithe limbs, but most of all, at the wide glassy chocolate orbs which would never again sparkle with delight and joy.

Jo leaned against the worn brick wall for support and let the tears flow freely.

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><p><em>Author's Note #2: Since there was an AN above already, I'll keep this short. If you want to look at the locket Ellie bought, then the link is on my profile. The question is: IS THERE ANYONE WILLING TO HELP ME BETA? If you're interested, please PM!<em>

_Bianca tabbycat :D_


	2. Grief, Realization, and Surprise

_Recap of last chapter:_

_Jo had soon covered the short distance to her destination, and she stared at her little girl unbelievingly: at her dark tresses, at her lithe limbs, but most of all, at the wide glassy chocolate orbs which would never again sparkle with delight and joy._

_Jo leaned against the worn brick wall for support and let the tears flow freely._

**Chapter 2 – Grief, Realization, and Surprise**

The day's work was finally over.

Jo closed her office door on some of the team's concerned and pitying faces. She couldn't bear talking to them; she knew the news had spread through the mysterious gossip network somehow, though she knew Lindsay, Mac, Danny and Flack would never give her away, no matter what. Sure, some of the team lingering outside meant well, intending to offer their sympathies, but she didn't _want _them, didn't want to listen to their "I'm so sorry"s or "I understand"s, for if they haven't lost someone dear to them, then how could they feel the whirlwind of emotions: the pain, the sorrow, the grief that she was experiencing?

She quickly lowered the blinds; she didn't want anyone to see her break down, for that would come eventually, she knew. Mac had kindly but firmly ordered her off the case; instead, she had been reassigned to another one. He had, of course, asked whether she wanted to have a few days off, to "cope with emotional distress", as he put it. She had refused, for if she went home, reality would seem all the more real, and she would have to tell Tyler and Joshua. Oh God, how on earth do you break it to your sons that their sister is now… dead?

Death… That had always been such a common word in her life, one that had lost its meaning over time. It had once been a foreboding word, a word not to be joked with, and a word with a meaning graver than most. Nowadays – or rather, a few days earlier – death to her was a condition of sorts, one that happened to people everywhere, at all times. Today, though, she had rediscovered the definition of death once more.

She had never really thought about how fragile a person's life was, how easy it was to end one. The plunge of a knife, the pull of a trigger of a gun, the ingestion of poison – and boom! The person's life was gone, never to return… to heaven, if there was one that existed. She thought of Ellie, her baby, the one she had secretly treasured and favored above her other children, even if she was adopted. Maybe the reason was her gender, the way she reminded Jo of her childhood self, the way she could relate to herself effortlessly.

Jo closed her eyes and allowed her mind to wander towards Ellie. She had, for the rest of the day since she got back from the crime scene, submerged herself in work for the other case, which involved a woman found in a trash can near downtown. She had looked up the victim's history; it was surprisingly similar to her daughter's – only Ellie would never _have _a future. How very strange it was. Jo had, in her job as a CSI, came across more than her fair share of blood, bodies and gore – why, she found a corpse on the floor of the lab when she first arrived! – but the sight of her baby's body lying lifelessly on the stone pavement was now forever burned into her mind.

Jo allowed her tears to escape her tightly closed eyelids; they trailed down her cheeks and stained her blouse. She would never have thought she could feel so much sadness for another's death; she thought she had reached the limit when her father died in a robbery gone wrong. Somehow, she felt that she was the one responsible for Ellie's death, that she should have warned her to be more careful, that she should have checked on her more often. She would never in a million years have thought that her Ellie would be one of those faceless victims that lay on Sid's examining tables.

Here her tears fell thicker and faster than before, and a broken sob escaped her lips as she thought of the little things about her daughter. Never again would she see Ellie's broad grin at even the slightest joke; never again would she hear Ellie's loud burst of laughter; never again would she feel Ellie's warm, silky strands of black hair through her fingers when she combed it.

Through the racket she was creating, she could still make out the soft click her door made when it was shut. She heard the soft footfalls as they came closer, and the sofa sank as Mac sat himself down, next to his colleague. His arm wrapped around her shoulders as he pulled her closer, so they were facing each other, sitting knee-to-knee. Jo – or was it Mac? – lowered her face on his shoulder and cried, now no longer trying to contain the sobs that came out of her mouth, no longer worrying about the team outside who could, without a doubt, hear her breaking down.

They seemed to sit there for hours in that office; Mac didn't seem to notice the salty marks that were left on his shirt as he alternated between patting her back reassuringly and drawing smoothing circles to calm Jo down. He could fathom the feelings she was going through; for he, too, had gone through the same thing when his wife passed away. He knew that sometimes words don't have any effect, and as they say, actions speak louder than words, especially at moments like this.

Gradually, without either of them realizing it, Jo's hiccups quieted and she slipped off to the world of sleep, where she could, hopefully, escape for a few hours from the harsh, cruel world.

_*Shattered Glass*_

It just wasn't natural.

That was the thought that first came into his mind when he saw the body lying on the steel cold table in the middle of the morgue, with her eyes staring emptily into space and her limbs stiff. Why wasn't it natural, you may ask. Sid Hammerback had seen hundreds of thousands of dead bodies lying just like that in his morgue, and many of them had been in a state more gruesome than this.

The reason was simple as day. This girl had once radiated happiness as a normal person radiates heat when she was alive. She was the kind of girl that could brighten up a room by merely a friendly smile, a twinkle in her eyes so joyful that one would have laughed just by watching her, a warm and heartfelt hug meaning to comfort… The girl had reminded him of a slightly younger version of his daughter when he first saw her. They were both bubbly, strong and kind, and they were all qualities he admired in a person, though maybe not the bubbly part so much.

It was strange, to think that a person as _alive _and as happy as Ellie would come to an end like this one. Sid hated to think of what poor Jo was going through; why, he had felt depressed at the thought of his daughter dead! He hoped Mac could solve this particular case sooner so the girl could at least have a funeral without the stench that accompanies a decomposing body.

"Ah! Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear," Sid smiled faintly as he caught sight of the "devil"; the thought of his daughter's corpse was still on his mind.

"Hey, Sid," Mac strode into the room from his previous place at the doorway; the ME had seemed absorbed in his thoughts, and he didn't want to interrupt him. "I need some info –"

"On Ellie?" Sid broke in, already heading for the occupied slab, snapping into his "professional" mood. "Well, her liver temperature was around 97.1 degrees, so I'll give the TOD as around 5:30. The COD is probably strangulation. These marks on her neck all point to that." He fingered the lines on the girl's neck. "I'd already pulled the fibers out."

He handed a small bottle to Mac, who inspected it before placing it in his pocket. "However, these strangulation marks are out of the usual – in this situation, at least."

"How so?" Mac asked, looking at the ME for an answer.

"The marks were in a V-shape, consistent with a suicide attempt. However, there were some small defensive wounds on her, which ruled that out. I was about to give her an MRI to determine the cause of death, just in case I was wrong about that. Want to help?" Sid was already pushing the slab towards the machine.

"Sure," Mac replied, the latex gloves snapping against his wrists as he followed him.

They carefully rolled the scanner over Ellie's body. As soon as it was done, their heads turned to the graphic image on the screen, anxious to see the results. They sorted through the images carefully, searching for anything that might have caused her death apart from the crushed windpipe.

"Wait a sec," Mac instructed just as Sid was about to move onto another section. He obeyed, and glanced back at the picture. Was that what he thought it was?

"Enlarge this one, will you?"

Sid complied and they both focused on Ellie's heart. So that's what they were looking for… The COD was, in reality, far from what it seemed.

Sid let out a low whistle. "Well, Mac, you've gotta admit that your perp was smart. The strangulation was post mortem, to throw us off the track. And he succeeded – for a few moments, at least.

"That's why the strangulation mark was in a V-shape. Ellie was already on the floor when she was strangled. That bubble in the heart was the COD."

Mac nodded, a troubled expression on his face as his mind whirled at top speed. "Air embolism."

_*Shattered Glass*_

It was still the same.

More or less, anyway, she thought, looking at the building she had seen and gone into more times than she could count. The lab was on the 35th floor, she remembered fondly; she could still recall the exact location of everyone's desks, the labs, and the apparatuses. It was as if she haven't even been away, or maybe she just had a mental map in her head.

She couldn't wait to see them all again, their familiar faces, the looks of surprise that they would be sure to have when she showed up so unexpectedly, without any warning at all.

She stepped inside the lobby with a smile hovering at the corners of her lips.

_*Shattered Glass*_

It was a harsh world.

Some of the time, that is. That was Lindsay's point of view on the world. If she wasn't right, she reasoned, then there wouldn't be as many disasters as there were, she wouldn't have seen her friends die, and Jo… Jo wouldn't have lost her daughter.

In the time that Jo had worked in the lab, she and Lindsay had formed a friendship almost as strong as the one Lindsay had with Stella. They would confide some of their "girl" troubles in each other and supply advice. After all, two heads are better than one.

However, in this case, Lindsay couldn't confide in Jo, for her own troubles concerned her friend. She had just spoken to Sheldon, who was working with the Assistant Supervisor on the "trash can woman case", as they nicknamed it. Apparently, Jo had been acting like a zombie all day. She had seemed detached from other people, doing all the work that was required of her automatically, answering someone when asked, but all this she did with no emotion. Somehow, this scared Lindsay more than seeing her cry; which was why she had seated her husband forcefully in the break room to discuss Jo's behavior.

"Danny, what am I supposed to do?" Lindsay fretted, wringing her hands worriedly. "Okay, maybe I'm a tad too emotional and overreacting because of PMS, but Ellie just _died_." Her voice broke. "What am I supposed to do, as her friend? Do I go to comfort her, or… I don't know, tell Tyler and Joshua? Though probably I should leave that to her to do it; it'll be better to let their mother break the news, right? Oh, poor Jo…"

Danny sighed sadly, watching as his wife pace the length of the room over and over again. "Lindsay, you're rambling. Calm down," he urged, and she took a deep breath. "First of all, I've heard Mac had already beaten you in comforting Jo. Second, yes, I think it'll be better if you let Jo tell her sons. Also, as for how you can help, this is what I think: just be there to listen to her when she's ready, okay?"

Lindsay stared at her husband with something akin to surprise and fondness on her face. Sometimes, it was hard to imagine that there was another side of Danny apart from the fun-loving, humorous one. She smiled at him in thanks, and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips.

"No fair," he pouted, looking so much like Lucy that Lindsay nearly laughed out loud. "I'm your husband; I demand a proper kiss!"

She gave in to his request, and they were in the middle of it – the climax, you could say – when they heard a familiar voice –

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

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><p><em>Hey, folks! Hope you enjoyed this chapter; I had quite a lot of trouble typing some parts in this chappie. Could any of you guess who the "she""familiar voice" is? (Though it is actually very easy to guess... If you read the summary, that is. -Hint, hint!-) Originally, "she" was going to appear in Chapter 3, but since my sister insisted and threatened me (gulp), "she" showed up in this chapter instead._

_I found it harder to write about people's thoughts and feelings than to simply describe their actions. So please, as reward for the hard, hard work I've put into this, REVIEW! Criticisms are always welcome, since they help me improve my work, but as before, no flamers are allowed, 'cause they really damage one's self-confidence!_

_Before I go, I have to thank **Zoe tabbycat **and **MSFanGirl**; love ya all!_

_Bianca tabbycat_

_P.S. Is there anyone willing to help me beta? Please? ~puppy-dog eyes~_


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